Summary- Seventeen-year-old Colin Hay tries to kill his father after his mother’s death (due to his father). Colin decides he is going to go to Glastonbury monastery for protection from his father and to become a monk like his mother desired.

At this time King Henry VIII is closing many of the monasteries in England, and Colin is afraid of what may happen to the monastery where he is staying. He is also confused with what he is learning at the monastery and with a local family who studies from an English Bible, which is forbidden. Glastonbury Abbey is even more special, because it holds a treasure, the Holy Grail.

About the author-

LeAnne Hardy has lived in Johannesburg, South Africa where she taught writing and wrote for HIV/AIDS infected children. She has been a missionary on four continents. She was able to visit the ruined abbey at Glastonbury when she lived in England. She currently lives in Wisconsin with her husband. They have married daughters and two grandchildren.

My thoughts- I thought this book was so good I had to read it twice. I learned more the second time than the first time and I am sure that when I read it again I will learn even more.

The most interesting tidbit of information was about the children's nursery rhyme, “Little Jack Horner.” A man from the abbey had been sent to the king with a pie with the titles of the Abbey manors. The pie was a deed short. The man who now had the manors was Jack Horner.

I have known for many years of the religious upheaval in England’s past. This book really put it into perspective though with the Catholics, Church of England, and the Celtic faith that was still holding on. I really enjoy reading books like this, because you learn more about daily lives and not just names and dates.

I would highly recommend this book for young men, so they can learn of forgiveness and religious conviction. I would also recommend this book to anyone who want to learn more about England in the late 1530’s. I am going to lend this book to my sister now to read, so she can enjoy it too.

Disclosure of Material Connection- I received Glastonbury Tor by LeAnne Hardy for free from the Kregel Publications’ Blog Tour. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.

Extras- Pertinent discussion questions to help you determine whether you are facing north for God or south for the gods of this life.

Are you struggling with daily life: bad relationships, broken cars, troubled children? How do you respond? True North will help you determine if you turn south to gods of this world or north to God.

In this book you will read what has happened with the authors, fitting Bible verses, plus experiences from other people. Each chapter ends with discussion questions to help you understand more about what stage you are in life; self-centered grumbling and grasping or Christ-centered gratitude.

Gary and Lisa Heim have been married for more than twenty-five years and live in Michigan. They have two children, Brandon and Kailie, who are college-age. Gary is a limited licensed psychologist and Lisa is a licensed professional counselor. They are both adjunct professors at Grand Rapids Theological Seminary. They enjoy spending time outside.

My thoughts-

I thought this book was good. I thought the best part was, “Part Four: You-Turn.” This section repeated what had been mentioned in previous chapters, but these chapters showed me how to implement what God has freely given into my daily life.

The discussion questions at the end of each chapter certainly gave me a lot to think about. My favorite questions were in the last chapter, “Giving It Away: Mentoring Others.” The last question asking me who I am laboring for and investing in made me realize that there are people in my life who I need to invest in, so they can be saved in God and walk with him.

One of the features of this book that I thought was interesting what how each of them worked on different chapters, but the chapters flowed seamlessly together. I did notice that there were a lot of quotes from John Piper. I am more interested in his work, because those quotes work well with choosing to move to a northern focus on God instead of the selfish southern focus.

I would recommend this book to everyone, because we all need to make sure we are not “grumbling” in any parts of our daily life.

Disclosure of Material Connection- I received True North by Gary and Lisa Heim for free from the Kregel Publications’ Blog Tour. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.

Extras- Pertinent discussion questions to help you think more about how you need to share Jesus.

From the back of the book:

We sport "Jesus Saves" bumper stickers on our cars and "WWJD" bracelets on our wrists. We post Bible verses on our Facebook profiles and Tweet profound quotes from Christian thought leaders. But when it comes to sharing our faith verbally we become tongue-tied.

What would life look like if we stopped mass-marketing Jesus and started marketing our faith by sharing relationally, from person to person? Using examples from our consumer culture, Tim Sinclair shows Christians that sharing Jesus has nothing to do with our trinkets or out T-shirts. It has everything to do with being personally branded by Christ. With being forever changed by Jesus. With being permanently marked by our Savior.

About the author-

Tim Sinclair is a marketer and a radio personality. His marketing clients have included McDonald's, World Records and Moody Publishers. He is also on the radio daily on the radio show, "Mornings with Tim and Pam."

Tim Sinclair lives with his wife, Heather and children, Jeremiah and Elijah in Illinois.

My thoughts-

Wow!! What a great book. I couldn’t put it down! There were so many ideas to take from this book.

There are more ideas and thoughts than I can list, so here are a few.

We need to believe our product, Jesus, is the best to be able to make a difference. We also need to check the timing, situation and cultural expectations.

Non-Christians are testing us not Jesus.

We need to change the person’s heart, not their culture. We need to become a part of their culture.

Don’t over promise what God can do.

You can’t mass market Jesus, we have to share him person to person.

Tell your true story, no matter how bad it is and keep it simple.

I totally agree with Tim Sinclair that we need to share God/Jesus individually and not mass market him. I need to work much harder on spreading the gospel of Jesus to those I meet every day.

I hope that all of you will read this book to get ideas on how you can spread the good news of Jesus.

Disclosure of Material Connection- I received Branded by Tim Sinclair for free from the Kregel Publications’ Blog Tour. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.

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